News
Less than a few days since Season 8 of the
The UAE’s Bashar Mardini, who is no stranger to regional motorsport, committed to a full season of
The
Speaking a few days after the dramatic Season 8 finale in Bahrain, Bashar Mardini said, “This was my first full championship in my whole racing career. I had some ideas as to what I wanted to achieve in terms of finishing positions and performances, and I have definitely seen across the season where I need to go from here. I set myself targets of finishing in the top ten, making the silver podium on more than one occasion, and trying to finish a race in the top six overall. I finished 10th in the championship, featured on the silver podium twice and finished in sixth position in one race this season, so overall I think I did quite well.
“I’ve definitely improved as a racing driver, my team has helped me work with my overall speed and qualifying times and that has helped me to adapt to the car and the high level of driving in the series. I’ve learnt a lot about my own mentality and confidence on and off the track, so moving forward this will definitely help me progress at a quicker rate wherever I drive next.”
With a perfect balance of seasoned professionals and young, exciting regional and European racing talent. The mixture of youth versus experience, and passion over excitement continues to create an incredibly unique series for motorsport fans to follow in the Middle East.
Bashar Mardini commented on the championship’s vision of providing a platform for young regional racing talent. He said, “I looked at the grid this season and I saw several young drivers from around the region, if you look in particular at Al Faisal Al Zubair of Oman and the two Al Khalifa drivers of Bahrain, they are all under the age of 21 which is quite remarkable. At the start of the season, these young drivers were off the pace, and still being given an education lesson. In the final rounds of the season both Al Khalifa drivers were competing and finishing mid pack, and Al Faisal Al Zubair provided the best example of progression in the last round of the season, qualifying on pole position and winning the first race.
“Whether you are an experienced pro, gentleman driver or young upcoming star, this series provides the correct learning experience for every driver at different stages of their career.”
The 2016/17 season was the eighth instalment since the championship was started by Walter Lechner in Bahrain in 2009. This season has arguably been the best to date, and the closest since its inception, with the top five drivers in the championship finishing with only 73 points between them.
Speaking on the success of Season 8, Walter Lechner, founder and head of the
“For young regional talent like Bahrain’s Isa S. Al Khalifa, Isa A. Al Khalifa and Oman’s Al Faisal Al Zubair, the
“Nothing else in the Middle East provides a platform like this, to create and define motorsport careers and we’re already looking forward to the upcoming edition and the new talent which will fill the grid.”
All reports on the previous season can be found in our archive.